Neighbors fret about vacant house in SW Ocala

An apparently abandoned house and lot, possibly the source of rats and snakes, is sandwiched between two tidy, well-groomed homes in southwest Ocala.

By Andy FillmoreCorrespondent

An apparently abandoned house and lot, possibly the source of rats and snakes, is sandwiched between two tidy, well-groomed homes in southwest Ocala. This leads Sharon Barnes to ask a simple question.

“Would you want to live next to that?” Barnes asked on a recent day, pointing toward the heavily overgrown lot and derelict frame home at 9172 SW 33rd Court, right next door to her house.

“I’ve seen rats and snakes and I don’t know if that property is the cause, but it’s not helping any,” Barnes said. “I have a lot of questions about who is responsible for cleaning it up. I’ve learned to look the other way.”

Barnes’ husband, Earl, said the former residents were sawing 1,000-pound tree trunks — hauled in by tree trimming companies — into firewood. He claimed he knew of motor oil being dumped onto the ground.

A walk up to the front of the property reveals a yard that looks like it has been neglected for years, with paper and trash littering the grounds. The front interior part of the house appears to be a junk storage area, and edges of the roof show signs of rot.

The owner of record is Paul E. Sowers. Attempts to reach him by phone were unsuccessful.

According to Craig Silverman with the Tax Collector’s Office, property taxes went unpaid from 2007 through 2011 and the property was put on the “Lands Available for Taxes” list on or before September 2012.

Silverman indicated Ravenglass Management LLC applied for a tax deed on the property but the parcel has not sold, likely because of a property owner safeguard in Florida law that requires homesteaded properties be sold with half the assessed value added to the delinquent tax amounts.

This protection applies until the property is no longer homesteaded. There is no homestead exemption applied to the property for 2014, so a sale should be easier to arrange starting in November.

Pat Barrett lives on the south side of the trouble home.

“I’m concerned about the fire danger and the trees,” Barrett said. “I’ve had rats chewing the screening I had recently installed in my porch. It’s getting worse with mosquitoes and ants.”

Barrett has lived in her home for about 13 years. She estimates the property at 9172 has been vacant for about two years.

“There are kids that run through this area and I’m concerned about their safety and for my dog, Susie,” Barrett said, adding that she has seen bats and heard noises coming from the roof and attic area of the structure at 9172.

Barrett said she has no complaint with the former owner. Her only concern is getting the property cleaned up and addressing any possible health issues.

An old decrepit wood shed on the 9172 property, which nearly touches her fence line, and creeping poison ivy are additional concerns for Barrett.

Marion County Code Enforcement was dispatched to 9172 recently but county public information officer Elaine McClain noted that Marion “does not currently have an ordinance in place to regulate overgrown grass or weeds.”

According to county records, code enforcement received a complaint Oct. 17, 2012, about junk and litter on the property. A case was opened and the violation was cleared Nov. 29 of that year.

Craig Ackerman, public information officer with the Florida Department of Health in Marion County, said an inspector from his agency checked the property June 16.

“He did not find anything that would qualify as a sanitary nuisance,” Ackerman wrote in a follow-up email. “There was vegetation overgrowth, and some junk made of metal and plastic, but no food waste or household garbage that would attract rodents.

“Since there doesn’t appear to be a sanitary nuisance at the property, the department does not plan to take any further action,” the email continued. “We routinely work with the area code enforcement agencies, so the inspector gave Marion County Code Enforcement a call to let them know what he found.”

Meanwhile, the neighbors can only hope November brings a quick sale of the property to an owner who makes immediate improvements.

“With home ownership comes responsibility. (Homeowners) are held to a standard to keep their lots clean and maintained,” Sharon Barnes said. “What can we do about that abandoned one?”